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ACRES OF DIAMONDS
There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he
was content. He was content because he was happy. One day a wise man came to him
and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The
wise man said, "If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own
city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own
country." And then he went away. That night the farmer couldn't sleep. He was unhappy
and he was discontent. He was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent
because he was unhappy.
The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and
went in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn't find any. He looked all
through Europe and couldn't find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally,
physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the
Barcelona River and committed suicide.
Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream
that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and
made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would look good on the mantle piece. He
picked up the stone and put it in the living room. That afternoon the wise man came and
saw the stone sparkling. He asked, "Is Hafiz back?" The new owner said, "No, why do
you ask?" The wise man said, "Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see
one." The man said, no, that's just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I'll show
you. There are many more." They went and picked some samples and sent them for
analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed
covered with acres and acres of diamonds.*
What is the moral of this story?
There are five morals:
1. When our attitude is right, we realize that we are all walking on acres and acres of
diamonds.

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Attributed to Dr Russel Conwell .
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Opportunity is always under our feet. We don't have to go anywhere. All we need
to do is recognize it.
2. The grass on the other side always looks greener.
3. While we are dyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are dyeing the
grass on our side. They would be happy to trade places with us.
4. When people don't know how to recognize opportunity, they complain of noise when it
knocks.
5. The same opportunity never knocks twice. The next one may be better or worse, but it
is never the same one.